British holidaymakers have told how they have been offered the chance to pay up to £20 to skip queues and bag checks at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

The Government suspended air links on Wednesday amid fears a bomb was used to down a Russian passenger plane in Egypt, killing 224 people.

Dale Parkyn, who visited the Red Sea resort with his wife earlier this year, said they were approached by a man in military uniform and asked if they would like to avoid the long queues.

The 47 year old said: “What we did is we discussed it and he then produced a £20 note and said, ‘Have you one of these’ and you can avoid the queue.

“We walked right through the security gates and security procedure, straight through the airport, avoided all the queues, and then he put the case on the conveyor belt and the girl checked us in. At no point did my luggage go through any scanner. When I think now, it was bizarre.

“At the time it was quite amusing that for us, for £20, we’d avoided all the queues.”

He said he realised the “gravity” of the situation after seeing news of the Government’s announcement.

Brendan De Garis said that razors were missed in one queue-jumper’s luggage.

He said: “David Cameron did the right thing. The airport’s not safe. The staff I saw were arrogant, complacent, and a danger to the public.

“Security was such a shambles I was relieved when we were turned round at the gate.”

Security has since been tightened at the airport following the suspension of flights, including a ban on carrying hold luggage.

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